Peter Guralnick at the Cambridge Public Library | Cambridge Public Library
Cultural Experiences
Harvard Book Store and the Cambridge Public Library welcome
Peter Guralnick
—Grammy Award-winner for his liner notes for
Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club
, and prize-winning author of the two-volume biography of Elvis Presley,
Last Train to Memphis
and
Careless Love
—for a discussion of his new book
The Colonel and the King: Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, and the Partnership that Rocked the World.
He will be joined in conversation by
Peter Wolf
—Boston-based rock ’n’ roll legend and former front man of the legendary J. Geils Band.
Ticketing
RSVP for free to this event or choose the "Book-Included" ticket to reserve a copy of
The Colonel and the King
and pick it up at the event. Peter Guralnick will sign copies of his book after the presentation.
Note: Books bundled with tickets may only be picked up at the venue the night of the event, and cannot be picked up in-store beforehand. Ticket holders who purchased a book-included ticket and are unable to attend the event will be able to pick up their book at Harvard Book Store up to 30 days following the event. This offer expires after 30 days. Please note we cannot guarantee signed copies will be available to ticket holders who do not attend the event.
About
The Colonel and the King
From the award-winning biographer of Elvis Presley, a groundbreaking dual portrait of the relationship between the iconic artist and his legendary manager—drawing on a wealth of the Colonel's never-before-seen correspondence to reveal that this oft-reviled figure was in fact a confidant, friend, and architect of his client’s success.
In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker—manager of the number-one country music star of the day—heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than eight hundred people to a Texas schoolhouse, and headed south to investigate. Within days, Parker was sending out telegrams and letters to promoters and booking agents: “We have a new boy that is absolutely going to be one of the biggest things in the business in a very short time. His name is ELVIS PRESLEY.” Later that year, after signing with RCA, the young man sent a telegram of his own: “Dear Colonel, Words can never tell you how my folks and I appreciate what you did for me.... I love you like a father.”The close personal bond between Elvis and the Colonel has never been fully portrayed before. It was a relationship founded on mutual admiration and support. From the outset, the Colonel defended Elvis fiercely and indefatigably against RCA executives, Elvis’s own booking agents, and movie moguls. But in their final years together, the story grew darker, as the Colonel found himself unable to protect Elvis from himself or control growing problems of his own.Featuring troves of previously unpublished correspondence, revelatory for both its insights and emotional depth,
The Colonel and the King
provides a unique perspective on not one but two American originals. A tale of the birth of the modern-day superstar (an invention almost entirely of Parker’s making) by Peter Guralnick, the most acclaimed music writer of his generation, it presents these two misunderstood icons as they’ve never been seen before: with all of their brilliance, humor, and flaws on full display.
Bios
Peter Guralnick’s
books include the prize-winning two-volume biography of Elvis Presley,
Last Train to Memphis
and
Careless Love
; an acclaimed trilogy on American roots music,
Feel Like Going Home, Lost Highway,
and
Sweet Soul Music
; the biographical inquiry
Searching for Robert Johnson;
and
Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke
. Guralnick won a Grammy for his liner notes for
Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club
, wrote and co-produced the documentary
Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll
, as well as writing the scripts for the Grammy-winning documentary
Sam Cooke/Legend
and Martin Scorsese’s blues documentary
Feel Like Going Home
. His 2015 book
Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll
was a finalist for the Plutarch Award for Best Biography of the Year, awarded by the Biographers International Organization. His most recent book is
Looking to Get Lost: Adventures in Music and Writing
.
Peter Wolf,
born in the Bronx NY, became a rock ’n’ roll convert at the age of eleven after attending an Alan Freed revue that included performances by Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and others. Although at first, he aspired to a career as a painter and studied at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts, he experienced a life-changing epiphany after jumping onstage with a band of fellow art students at a loft party forming one of Boston’s early rock bands, the Hallucinations. Shortly thereafter, Wolf secured a job as an all-night DJ on the fledgling FM radio station WBCN, where he adopted the persona of the “Woofa Goofa” and spun obscure rock ’n’ roll and early rhythm and blues. His encyclopedic musical knowledge came in handy when he and some like-minded Boston players formed the J. Geils Band, much of whose early repertoire was drawn from Wolf’s vast record collection. In 1970 the band was signed by Jerry Wexler for Atlantic Records where they went on to release nine influential albums and earned a reputation as one of rock’s most exciting live acts. In 1979 they were signed by EMI America topping the charts world-wide with their hit songs “Freeze Frame,” “Love Stinks,” and “Centerfold.” With the 1984 album
Lights Out
, Wolf began his career as a solo artist. In the ensuing years he collaborated with Aretha Franklin, Merle Haggard, John Lee Hooker, and Mick Jagger, among others. His album
Sleepless
was voted one of the top five hundred albums of all time by
Rolling Stone
. He currently tours with his band ‘The Midnight Travelers’ and will be releasing his ninth solo album in 2025. He lives and works from his home base in Boston, Massachusetts.
Masking Policy
Masks are encouraged but not required for this event.
Co-Sponsors
The Cambridge Public Library serves as a doorway to opportunity, self-development, and recreation for all its residents, and as a forum where they may share ideas, cultures, and resources among themselves and with people around the globe. Learn more at
cambridgema.gov/cpl
.
Information Source: Harvard Book Store | eventbrite